Traditionalists might balk, but the holiday shopping season is already underway. Skeptical? Head to your local department store and you'll be inundated by Christmas trees and ornaments. Bargain hunters, though, know that the real deals are more than a month away.
Black Friday, traditionally, is when retailers truly slash prices. Early birds can save hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars off of their holiday bills. Switched.com checked with a few elves, who gave a sneak peek at what you can expect deal-wise this year.
Blu-ray Players and Movies: Blu-ray is shaping up to be the biggest door buster of this year's Black Friday. de Grandpre expects at least one retailer will offer a Blu-ray player for just $49. Look for bargains on Blu-ray films as well, with last year's hit titles (such as "Iron Man") to fall as low as $5.
Laptops: With the proliferation of Netbooks this year, it's never been easier to find affordable portable computing, but Dan de Grandpre, CEO of DealNews.com says it will get even cheaper on Black Friday. Look for well-equipped Netbooks to sell for $199 – and basic 15" laptops to go for as little as $249.
HDTVs (Pretty big): The holidays are typically the best time to buy a new TV – and Black Friday is the time to do it. If you're looking for a normal sized set, you're in luck. Piper Jaffrey analyst Mitch Kaiser says he expects to see 32-inch LCD sets for as low as $299. GottaDeal.com is estimating 37-inch plasma and LCD sets will fall to $399 or less.
HDTVs (Really big): Need something bigger? How about a 46-47 inch LCD set for $599 – a 25 percent savings? Or a 52-inch LCD for $999? Dealnews says you can expect both. Plasma deals will be a little harder to come by, but a 50-inch set should run roughly $899.
HD Camcorders: You've wanted to shoot your child's school play in HD for a while, but haven't been able to spring for the pricey camcorder. This might be the year. Low-end, flash-based 720p models could drop as low as $60 (though you won't be able to zoom with those). Expect a high quality 1080p HD camcorder for $349.
GPS: While navigation systems have dramatically expanded their reach this year – even making it onto the iPhone – there's still a market for car-based systems. Dealnews predicts you'll be able to find a no-name entry-level system for $49, while a Garmin or Tom-Tom brand will be as low as $69.
Digital Picture Frames: Showcasing your digital pictures consistently gets cheaper. This year, skip the 7-inch screens and focus on the 8- or 9-inch ones, which should be available on Black Friday for as little as $30.
Monitors: Computer monitors might not be the sexiest of gifts, but they're usually welcomed with open arms – and they'll be cheap this year. Name brand 22-inch LCD models may go for as low as $99, while 24-inch models will drop below $150.
Memory: Don't know anyone who needs a monitor? External hard drives are always popular, since they're an easy way to back-up data. Dealnews expects a 1TB drive to fall as low as $49 this year. Gottadeal is looking for 8GB flash drives to hit $15.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 30)
andreas vasiadis said 1:47PM on 2-29-2008
it yhappens to me too at mohigans sun but i am not a lawer so i lost 52.000 quarters
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andreas vasiadis said 1:46PM on 2-29-2008
it happens to me at mohigans sun in ct 4 years ago same thing unplug the machine i lost 52.000 quarters but i am not a lawer so i shut it up pc after that day that machine disapear from the casino
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keri said 10:29PM on 3-01-2008
Somethings not Right there, wonder what employees cut is for doing that?
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Daniel Gaunt said 8:33AM on 3-02-2008
Hope he wins the case, Casinos rely on peoples addictions to earn fortunes, anything that will force casinos to shut down will be good
http://freeextras.blogspot.com/
http://lifeorsomethingnotquitelikeit.blogspot.com/
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Tom said 8:52PM on 3-02-2008
If I find out which casino would do that...I'm not going in and neither are any of my friends. They desverse to payout DOUBLE if they voluntarily interfer in a jackpot...which is a contract between the player and the casino. Abusing that contract can result in a substancial penalty either way. If it happened in Las Vegas, their license could be threatened.
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Philip Richards said 11:20PM on 3-02-2008
I don't know, nor do I care what casino reneged on the $5 million jackpot. IT's a two way street,all casinos milk the slot machine player all the time, so pay off no matter what was supposedly wrong with the machine. Casino's have no right to make a decision AFTER the slot is paying off ! ! ! ! ! !
Legal Eagle.
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Peter said 12:59AM on 3-03-2008
Not right at all. I'm sure they will be smart and settle out of court.
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michelle said 1:57PM on 3-03-2008
this guy should definitely get to keep the money. the greedy place unplugged the machine because they didn't want to pay up! give him the money!!!! and to the guy who lost his quarters here, well you should also get an attorney especially since you are not one and get your money back. people gamble based on the rules provided. gambling rules do not include whether or not you should or should not get money when you do win on a machine.
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Janet said 4:45PM on 3-03-2008
Malfunction??? The only malfunction is the scruples of the casino attendant pulling the plug! Just so happens the malfunction was at the precise time this guy won the jackpot? Yeah, that's believable. I guess this guy's luck was a malfunction for the casino. It's like a child knocking over a monopoly board because he is losing the game. I hope this guys wins he suit for more than the slot was paying out.
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George said 3:05AM on 3-05-2008
Ohhh Please ... That poor shmuck of an Amulance Chasing Attorney ... Machines with that size of a win DON"T spit out the $5 million + in cash. It shuts down and the "call attendent" light comes on and they get people to verify it. Sure the machine disappeared ... They removed it to fix it and find out what went wrong. No high conspiracy. Believe it or not but casino's love legitiment big payouts. The free publicity it garners pays for itself. Slot machines are the worst net in any casino at around 87% payback or less. For every $100 put in they pay back $87 ... Even the few machines that advertise 97% payback the casino still takes $3 for every $97 of $100 put in. Alvin be happy with the $100 you got and the free meal ...
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steve said 7:48AM on 3-05-2008
People, Please! The progressive jackpot is not paid out in the hopper or spit out in quarters. It is paid by the machine manufacturer and only after verification. The machine clearly says on it, malfunction voids all plays and pays. Everything is recorded on surveillance film for review. If this happens to you, call an attendent or staff member right away. Even if the machine starts dumping coins, it cant dump any more than what is in its inside hopper. So the story is absurd. Ask anyone who plays slots.
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Keith J. Mohrhoff said 8:22AM on 3-05-2008
Such things would NEVER happen in Vegas or Atlantic City. Once the house accepts the bet, they MUST accept the outcome--unless the 'malfunction' was a result of tampering by the bettor.
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Lady said 9:34AM on 3-05-2008
Read very carefully. A $5.15 million dollar jackpot will NEVER come out of a slot machine in quarters. I am surprised this story made it past an editor and on to the web. Even a novice slots player knows that there won't be any quarters coming out for a jackpot that size.
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DOVE said 1:08PM on 3-05-2008
MALFUNCTION, I THINK NOT ! IT IS THEIR MALFUNCTION AND THEY NEED TO PAY UP. I SURE THE LAW STEPS IN HERE AND MAKES THEM PAY THE MAN.
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wakeup! said 3:25PM on 3-05-2008
An attorney getting ripped off. Is there any irony in this story?
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Blanche said 4:53PM on 3-05-2008
Gambling is for entertainment only. If you gamble in the Virgin Islands, Bahamas, or at ANY Indian reservation you are more likely to lose and get no payout.
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james said 3:28PM on 3-05-2008
If that ever happens to me they are gonna have a whole lot more to unplug and besides that machine has an internal action resource that records every thing that machine does and for it to malfuntion is gonna be recorded and as for the casinos loss oh well they will have to pay this man something in the end but it could take up to 4 yrs and Im sure that mans life will be in dire danger for the entire duration so whats a mans life if he gains the whole world but loses his soul.Enough said?
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Susan said 3:47PM on 3-05-2008
Must be a slow news day! Security tape will show what really happened....
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Stacey Boaz said 3:45PM on 3-05-2008
B.S. Give that man his money! The casino's don't get a free ride, just like anybody else!
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david hubbard said 3:45PM on 3-05-2008
i was on a carnival ship years ago out of galveston. it was our first cruise i do not gamble but i did go into the casino one morning after i awoke and stopped to put a few silver dollars in a big machine. then after i had put in only about 20.00 worth which is my limit for gambling. the damn thing went off and i hit it big the attendant came over and verified my winnings and then the cruise director and captain came down and told me it was a malfunction. as you can imagine i was very upset. when we got to our next port we were sent a letter to our room asking us to remove our belongs and we had to find our own way home.
we only had a few minutes to pack when some big foreign men in ships uniform came to our room and escorted us off the ship. we were lucky we had enough on our credit card to get us home safely. i can't even remember the name of the ship now i think it was the celebration a dump of a ship anyway we are not rich and have to save several years to go on a cruise.
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